mastermind22 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 After 8 houses and legs that feel like lead after walking and standing in line all night (which was worth it.) I'm ready to give you my first impressions of the attractions. This is not a review since at EPs not all effects and houses will be at 100 but I will give constructive criticism on if the houses are perfect the way they are and what can be done to improve when the event begins. Now here we go: Dollhouse of the Damned First house for me and it was pretty good. A very creative concept, very disturbing, and great scares. The sets were great and I thought the bisected care bear on the wall was a great touch. There isn't anything that needs to improve with the house at all. I'll definatly go on it again. Dracula Untold: The costumes were great and the scares were decent. Sets were beautiful. It may not be my personal favorite but it's an o.k. house. From Dusk till Dawn: This house really captured the feel of the franchise. It was fun and had some naughty humor yet at the same time was still scary with good effects and great make-up. The Aztec sets were well done and the finale made me feel like I was in the climax of the first movie itself. Well done. Walking Dead: End of the line (I hope) While I'm a big fan of the T.V. series, I have to agree with the majority of the forum here when I say that this house series needs to be put to pasture. It was only The Walking Dead by name only as this was an just an average zombie house. I could tell which walkers were real and which were mannequins quite easy. It walker hoard effect was nowhere near 2008's Dead Exposure. The only plus was the very end with the caged walkers and the strobe lights. That's about it. My advice is maybe replace the fake walkers with real scareactors but I think even with that this house is a lost cause. Stay tuned for part 2 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 The walker horde effects (they made multiple attempts) were all pretty lame. The forest scene failed because many of the mannequins were very obviously posed and their flesh looked nothing like the actors; they looked more like department store mannequins than proper dummies. And the effect they used in the store......I just laughed. Literally laughed out loud. It was cheesy on a $20 spookhouse level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDW Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 The walker horde effects (they made multiple attempts) were all pretty lame. The forest scene failed because many of the mannequins were very obviously posed and their flesh looked nothing like the actors; they looked more like department store mannequins than proper dummies. And the effect they used in the store......I just laughed. Literally laughed out loud. It was cheesy on a $20 spookhouse level. yes but... IS there 112 oz of pudding?!? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foREVer56 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 The walker horde effects (they made multiple attempts) were all pretty lame. The forest scene failed because many of the mannequins were very obviously posed and their flesh looked nothing like the actors; they looked more like department store mannequins than proper dummies. And the effect they used in the store......I just laughed. Literally laughed out loud. It was cheesy on a $20 spookhouse level. Are we talking The gag Hollywood had that had 5 dummy walkers on a track that slid out with a lighting cue? If so, LLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 Are we talking The gag Hollywood had that had 5 dummy walkers on a track that slid out with a lighting cue? If so, LLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL Yes. Yes we are. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duh1011 Posted September 18, 2014 Share Posted September 18, 2014 OH GOD, THE HORROR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clash Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 The walker horde effects (they made multiple attempts) were all pretty lame. The forest scene failed because many of the mannequins were very obviously posed and their flesh looked nothing like the actors; they looked more like department store mannequins than proper dummies. And the effect they used in the store......I just laughed. Literally laughed out loud. It was cheesy on a $20 spookhouse level. it sounds like the effect is really cheap but I'm thinking I rather have mannequins in the house than nothing at all, which was the problem the WD houses had in the past two years. I'll have to see it to understand but I don't think adding more "walkers" is a problem because, I guess my question would be, imagine if they took out the cheap mannequins and just left the spaces empty. (I don't think they could replace the dummies with actors could they?) I obviously have no idea what the house is like, but the problem with the Walking Dead in both house and scarezone mode is how empty it always felt before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 it sounds like the effect is really cheap but I'm thinking I rather have mannequins in the house than nothing at all, which was the problem the WD houses had in the past two years. I'll have to see it to understand but I don't think adding more "walkers" is a problem because, I guess my question would be, imagine if they took out the cheap mannequins and just left the spaces empty. (I don't think they could replace the dummies with actors could they?) I obviously have no idea what the house is like, but the problem with the Walking Dead in both house and scarezone mode is how empty it always felt before. They absolutely could replace it with actors. Scareactors don't cost a whole lot of money and are practically disposable resources; five actors told to hustle forward in a group would have looked infinitely better than what they have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foREVer56 Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Yes. Yes we are. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kiwisoup Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Weren't they saying that there were 100 actors just for this maze, 50 each cast? I really doubt they would bring on more if that's the case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 Weren't they saying that there were 100 actors just for this maze, 50 each cast? I really doubt they would bring on more if that's the case. Next time I go through the house I'll take a count of how many actors I see. It relies mostly on a lot of large rooms with multiple actors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mastermind22 Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 Here is part 2: Giggles and Gore: This was a very unique house with a lot of scary visuals and intensity. My favorite part was the man with his eyes pried open ala "A Clockwork Orange" being forced to watch Woody Woodpecker. My only complant was the queue video. Unlike past queue videos at this location with helped built the story like Leave It To Cleaver and H.R. Bloodengutz all the video was was the logo geting warped along with the occasional images of warped clowns and footage of Red Skelton as well as real life surgical procedures. I think to make this video work is to add some steampunk/circus music and songs like Maroon 5's redition of Pure Imagination. Not sure if Universal has rights to that song though but use songs just like that. It would go well with the clown footage. Besides that the house itself is excellent. AvP: Alien vs Predator The sets were good. Thought the xenomorph animatronics were good, and I liked the appearence of space marines at the end. My advice is to make the animatronics a little faster especially the face huggers. The volume needs to be turned up for the android head since I couldn't hear him. And this is a personal preference but I wouldn't mind if one of the space marines acted like Hudson with a little "Game Over man! Game Over!" I like that Vasquez made a appearance though. With a few tweaks as well as ironing out the bugs that happened last night this house has potential. Roanoke-Cannibal Colony: A lot of people here are likely to tear me a new one for what I'm about to say but this was my favorite house that night. I know some reviews said the scares were off but when I went on I thought the cast I saw was going all out. Plus I thought the atmosphere, disturbing images, and the tribal music really brought a truly scary feel. Maybe the cast got word that they weren't performing good enough and decided to try to pull of a Havoc and I think it worked. I think this house deserves another chance. Halloween: The sets were great as well as the facade with the projection with Judith Myers getting knifed by Mini-Mike. The scares were good and I loved the homage to Halloween III with the Silver Shamrock wearing Trick-or-Treaters jumping at us. (I sometimes think that if HHN does a cult movie theme. Halloween III would be perfect for a house.) Definately going to this house again. That's it for today. I'm hoping that when the event opens I'll check out the scarezone when they're at 100% as well as the shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clash Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 They absolutely could replace it with actors. Scareactors don't cost a whole lot of money and are practically disposable resources; five actors told to hustle forward in a group would have looked infinitely better than what they have. That's what I was thinking as well. seeing how we only got 4 scarezones and not even any hordes or anything I doubt they would be willing to add more actors to this house. they won't even add more people in the streets where it is needed lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legacy Posted September 19, 2014 Share Posted September 19, 2014 they won't even add more people in the streets where it is needed lol. Eh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cody Posted September 20, 2014 Share Posted September 20, 2014 they won't even add more people in the streets where it is needed lol. Sounds like you missed 2012. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carnage Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 At least 56 each cast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clash Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) Sounds like you missed 2012. that's exactly the point... they know people will bitch about the streets, yet they only give us 4 zones and no unofficial hordes. Do they do this on purpose? wait until people start complaining until they add more to the streets? it seems really weird to keep having to add more to the streets year after year after people complain when they could do it from the very beginning. (Unless it is done on purpose for some reason) Edited September 22, 2014 by clash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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